Hexacuba Shelter, Kodak Trail – Built in 1989 by the Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC), the Hexacuba Shelter is a six-sided hexagonal log shelter that sleeps 8-10. It's located at 1,980 feet on the south side of Mount Cube on a spur path off the Kodak Trail, a segment of the Appalachian Trail, in Orford, New Hampshire.
Three trails lead to Mount Cube: the Kodak Trail, the Mt. Cube Trail, and the Cross Rivendell Trail. The Kodak Trail is the most scenic of the three; the trail was named this because it travels over Eastman Ledges, and there are numerous "Kodak moments" along the trail. The older generation may understand this connection better than the younger generation.
The shelter has 2 open sides and a large center post that supports the roof. Also at the shelter site is a 5-sided privy called "Penta Privy”. A small brook, near the shelter, is the water source but it's unreliable.
This shelter is known by two names – Hexacuba and Hexacube. The spelling variation is linked to the original name of the mountain, Mount Cuba; named for a hunting dog that was killed while fighting with a bear near the summit of Mount Cube (Sweetser 1876: 319). Cube is the corruption of Cuba. While the shelter still uses the original name, Mount Cube is the accepted name of the mountain.
Because the shelter was built in 1989, it’s not considered a historical shelter yet. But in another seventeen years, when the shelter turns fifty years old, the clause “historic shelter” can be used to describe this unique shelter. Hopefully, it makes it to fifty.
To license any of the above images for usage in publications, click on the image. View more scenes of the Hexacuba Shelter here.
Happy image making..
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References:
Sweetser, Moses Foster. The White mountains: A Handbook for Travellers. Boston, MA: James R. Osgood and Company, 1876.
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ScenicNH Photography LLC
Specializing in environmental conservation and historic preservation photography mainly in the White Mountains region of New Hampshire, Erin Paul’s photography and writing focuses on the history of the White Mountains, and telling the story of abandoned places and forgotten historical sites.